The bakers' thread

[C R]

Yeah, but again this does force you to keep baking. Sourdough works best when you have a continuous demand for baking. For occasional demand it can be done but it's a faff. I love that I can do it, but I became a slave to it.

Of course, that was the time that each house baked once a week for their own consumption. However, I imagine that you could keep the lump of dough in the freezer until you want to bake again.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

feeding the damned thing all the time, having to either use the discard to make stuff we really didn't need, or throwing it away

There is a way to avoid those problems: employ the scrapings method.

For sourdough I only make enough starter for whatever I am baking. There might be 2 or 3g of starter left in the tub (it would be 1/2 a tsp at best) and I put that back in the fridge until I next need it. Then, 24 hours ahead of time, I'll top that up with only enough flour and water for the bake. There's still enough activity in the scrapings to create a bubbling starter for the next day.

This way I don't waste anything.

If it's going to be several weeks before the next bake, I will freeze it.

 

[Always Cross]

Mine has lived up to 6 weeks in the fridge without touching it I would need to feed and discard because of the length of time asleep. If I use it every couple of weeks I take it out of the fridge the night before baking (i have 100g in the fridge always) I feed it 60g water and 120g flour, the next day I take 100g from this that goes in the fridge for next time. So I don’t waste any. I like to bake it quick as if I leave it to prove too long it gets too strong a taste and the wife doesn’t like it. I have left in the fridge to prove over night I had good results from that but the taste was too strong.

 

[T4tomo]

my Italian baking guru puts hers in the boot of her car

if she drives like typical Italian isn't that going to shake the dough up a bit?

 

[Always Cross]

My best bread recently has been the tin recipe from Bake with Jack Ive been making 3 tin loaves at a time to save electric then cut them in half and freeze.

 

[C R]

Granary rolls to have with stew tonight. Nothing fancy just ready made granary flour.

 

[Julia9054]

Of course, that was the time that each house baked once a week for their own consumption.

That's what I do. The problem is that my house consists of only 2 people and the other one doesn't really like bread. Home made bread doesn't really keep so my solution is to bake rolls and put them in the freezer. I can get out enough for my own consumption each morning.

 

[C R]

That's what I do. The problem is that my house consists of only 2 people and the other one doesn't really like bread. Home made bread doesn't really keep so my solution is to bake rolls and put them in the freezer. I can get out enough for my own consumption each morning.

Home baked bread is very popular at our place, the rolls above are all gone. Unfortunately I'm the only one that likes sourdough, so I've given up on keeping a starter going.

 

[Tom B]

I was the same - feeding the damned thing all the time, having to either use the discard to make stuff we really didn't need, or throwing it away. Whilst I loved the results of using it, it was quite high maintenance.

For bread I now use a low yeast, long-prove where possible which turns out something better than the typical high yeast, forced-prove methods. Approximately 1/4 of the 'normal' yeast amount and proved overnight in a cool place (usually my garage - my Italian baking guru puts hers in the boot of her car).

The low yeast long prove method is what I use for pizza dough and general bread.

Mine proves in the fridge for 20-36 hours.. I've even left or a few days knocked it back and proved again at room temp.

I use the ingredients at stadlers made pizza calculator with reduced salt.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I use the ingredients at stadlers made pizza calculator with reduced salt.

What does this bit mean? I can’t figure it out.

 

[Tom B]

What does this bit mean? I can’t figure it out.

Sorry..

https://www.stadlermade.com/how-to-make-neapolitan-style-pizza-dough/

https://www.stadlermade.com/pizza-calculator/

I use that base dough process / calculator for lots of bread base mixes.

I find it too salty even for pizza so knock off some salt.

 

[figbat]

I’ve posted it before, but this recipe always gives me great results. I have done baking lessons with the author who is passionate about authentic Italian recipes; the dough recipe can be used for any bread required. You can adjust the hydration level according to needs if needed.

 

[Tom B]

I’ve posted it before, but this recipe always gives me great results. I have done baking lessons with the author who is passionate about authentic Italian recipes; the dough recipe can be used for any bread required. You can adjust the hydration level according to needs if needed.

I cant really disagree with anything in that recipe and reasoning.

Its why i use a nice thick floor tile in the oven for pizza type breads and i make sure is is damn hot.

My oven will go over 250 and when its hot with the tile in i put the gratin mode on to really get the tile hot.
The difference the tile makes is immense.

I recently tried an american recipe with loads of sugar in the dough and tomato base sauce.... it was vile.

 

[Tom B]

I suffer from an hereditary inability to judge the number of potatoes for mash so usually end up with bits of mash in the freezer. This has lead to my lad being brought up on a diet of potato cakes!

He's potato cake (and poached egg).habbit has now reached the point I'm making mash to make potato cakes. He refuses shop bought potato cakes as rubbish and yuk!

So yesterday I made potato cakes in triplicate.

Then I made raspberry and white chocolate scones, but did them as drop scones as that seems trendy at the moment.


Baking of the lowest order I know

 

[figbat]

My Italian baking teacher was recently in Italy and posted a picture of some typical Neopolitan sweet pastries called biscotti all'amarene. Initially developed as a way of using up leftovers, they are sweet pastry wrapped around a sponge cake centre, which is mixed with black cherry jam. The whole lot is topped with royal icing. I knew I had to try it!

I found this recipe (in Italian but I used a digital translator) and had a go. It involves:

• make a 'pan di Spagna' sponge (a fat-free sponge like a genoise) - this is done the day before to give time to cool and dry
• make a sweet crust pastry - the method in the recipe is unlike any I have done before for pastry, going against all accepted wisdom of pastry making (the butter and sugar are creamed first, then a load of eggs added, then the flour)
• make the filling by crumbling the cake and adding cocoa, black cherry jam and an egg yolk to make a kind of cakey paste - shape to an oval log
• roll out the pastry, place the filling log on it and wrap
• make the icing with egg whites and icing sugar, top the wrapped log
• decorate with strained black cherry jam
• cut into slices and bake

The results are a bit messy (especially compared to the recipe pictures!) but very tasty. Quite a big lump to eat, but I could see it as a good mid-afternoon treat in a cafe with an espresso, to see you through to a late evening dinner.

I was left with a reasonable amount of pastry and icing so I knocked up some kind of cookies using blobs of black cherry and strawberry jam (and a few plain).

A good learning experience; the pan di Spagna, the creaming method for pastry etc. I might modify them in future - perhaps add some actual black cherries to the mix, perhaps kirsch-soaked ones, and I would handle the decoration differently. Maybe make them a little smaller too!